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Ryoko Owari Toshi
Ryoko Owari Toshi (S3), or Journey's End City was possibly the second largest city in Rokugan after the capital. Legend of the Five Rings; Third Edition, p. 297 It was located in the Ryoko province. Secrets of the Scorpion, p. 96 Other Names The city was alternately called City of Lies , City of Stories, Penance, Part Two, by Shawn Carman and Rich Wulf City of Green Walls, Clan Letter to the Scorpion #12 (Imperial Herald v3 #4) City That Dung Built, City of Lies: Player's Guide, p. 11 or the popular shortened form, Ryoko Owari. In the Crab Clan only it was called Reeking Scorpion Cesspool or Rotting Scorpion Cesspool. The Atlas of Rokugan, p. 268 Criminal Hotbed Control of the city changed hands several times over the years, but Ryoko Owari always retained its reputation for being a hotbed of criminal activity, having many gambling dens, geisha houses and opium parlors. The city maintained a mask of legitimacy as Rokugan's center for medicinal opium trade. Poppies were grown in vast fields that surround the city, and it's involvement in the opium trade (both legal and illegal) made the city very profitable for its rulers. City of Lies: Player's Guide, p. 27 History Founding The city was founded by Shosuro Kaneie in the 5th century under the rule of Hantei IX. It was a simple fort which stood against the expansionistic ambitions of the Crab Clan, with a nearby small town north of the fort named the "Journey's End" in hopes of attracting settlers. The city would be known as the "City of Green Walls" because the original city walls were quarried from local limestone. City of Lies: Player's Guide, p. 30 Growing in size The city was still a small fort under the rule of the Sixth Governor, Shosuro Kurodo. His ground-breaking policies led to the prosperity of the city, that would lead Ryoko Owari to became the second biggest city of the Empire. It was also under his reign when the kajinin firemen appeared. City of Lies: Player's Guide, pp. 23-24 The river that neatly bisected the village soon became an attraction for merchants from other clans, and the village soon became a city. The fertile fields surrounding the city were home to vast crops of opium, harvested, processed, and distributed for medicinal purposes. Way of the Thief, p. 62 The Garbage Rebellion The Garbage Rebellion was begun when the Twelfth Governor, Shosuro Atsusuke, taxed collecting refuse, breaking a Kurodo's promise. Atsasuke eventually was forced to revert his decision. Since that time the eta community at Ryoko Owari were known as the Leatherworkers. City of Lies: Player's Guide, p. 26 The Crab Invasion Early in the seventh century, Crab forces seized Ryoko Owari during the Crab Invasion of Scorpion lands, and held it for a little more than a year. The Liberation Day Festival was a local holiday held every year to honor the return of Shosuro Sanekata, the governor of Ryoko Owari at the time, who had predicted that the Crab could never hold his city. City of Lies: Player's Guide, pp. 14-15 The Lion Invasion During the rule of Hantei XX Scorpion, Crab, and Lion Clans battled for the lands around the city. The Lion had the upper hand and easily breached the weak limestone city walls. They held the city for only a week before they recalled their forces to other war scenery. New city walls were built eight feet thick and fifteen feet high with black granite from the Spine of the World Mountains. Second Rise of Iuchiban In 750, during the second rising of Iuchiban the city was ravaged by the bloodspeaker's undead army. Way of the Scorpion, p. 31 The majority of the citizenry had been evacuated to Yogo Shiro. Imperial Histories 2, p. 134 Opium War In 1122, Ryoko Owari was the place of the Opium War, Legend of the Five Rings : Third Edition, p. 17 devised by the Dajan's Kolat, a splinter sect of the true kolat. Bells of the Dead, p. 8 Moon Cultists This same year, a Moon cult rose an undead army. They entered unnoticed in the city mixed with the population during the Parade of the Dead, when the citizens bore death masks similar to the Porcelain Masks used to animate the zombies. Night of a Thousand Screams, pp. 42-43 The ritual was eventually disrupted by Crane magistrates. Unforgotten, by Shawn Carman Scorpion Clan Coup After the failure of the Scorpion Coup in 1123, the city was occupied in 1125 by the Imperial Legions, and its governor Shosuro Hyobu and other Scorpion residents were forced into hiding. Winter Court: Kyuden Kakita, p. 15 The Unicorn members of the city's ruling council took over administrative functions after the Coup. Game Master's Guide; 2nd Ed, p. 40 Clan War In 1127, in the month of the Dog, on their way to Beiden Pass, Crab forces seized and pillaged Ryoko Owari Toshi after defeating two of the Imperial Legions guarding the city. The commander choose not to destroy the city, but instead pillaged as many supplies as possible and returned to the main Crab army. Time of the Void, p. 11 Sanru no Oni had descended into the city and began killing armed resisters. Time of the Void, p. 18 Unicorn Assume Control In 1128, after the Second Day of Thunder, the Emperor Toturi I order to return order to the city. Time of the Void, p. 121 In 1130, in the month of the Serpent, Hidden Emperor, p. 12 with the Scorpion Clan sent into exile, the Unicorn seized control of the city. Smoke and Mirrors, by Shawn Carman Rulebook text (Hidden Emperor 4) The city remained under Unicorn rule even when the rest of Scorpion lands were returned to their original holders by Toturi I in 1132 as the boon of the tournament The Gift of the Emperor. The Emperor would not have his right hand cheated of their conquest. The Gift of the Emperor Scorpion Struggle In 1132 the Scorpion Clan had returned to Rokugan and Toturi I named Bayushi Yojiro magistrate of the City. The Scorpion began his fight to retake the city from the Unicorn control. War of Spirits In 1150 the spirit's legions threatened the City of Lies. Bayushi Paneki reported the Crab Clan Champion's husband, Hida Yasamura, the Scorpion could not stand against the Hida Tsuneo's armies. Hida O-Ushi, who had been supporting Hantei XVI since the beginning of the war, decided to send Yasamura leading the Crab cavalry to fight her own kinsmen. Legions, Part VIII The Crab and the Scorpion won the day in the Battle of Drowned Honor, but Yasamura died by an arrow in his throat. Battle of Drowned Honor (Celestial flavor) Kaneka Ryoko Owari was the place where Kaneka announced to the Empire that he was the son of the Emperor Toturi I in 1155. Three years later, in 1158, the Emperor was supposedly on his way to Ryoko Owari Toshi when he was ambushed and killed by a shadowlands force led by an oni. Legend of the Five RIngs : Third Edition, p. 25 Bloodspeaker Cell For many years a cult originally devoted to the moon deity, Onnotangu, operated with stealth and secrecy in the docks and heimin areas of the city. It had grown in the years of the Unicorn occupation, and a kikage zumi dedicated to Hitomi, the current Lady Moon, controlled the cult. Oriental Adventures, p. 226 Shinjo Governor In 1159 Ryoko Owari was restored to order by Shinjo Magistrates. As the city holdings were nearly equally divided between the Unicorn and Scorpion clan, both clans turned for arbitration. Until a new Emperor was chosen, the Miya placed a Shinjo to succeed the murdered Shosuro governor, while the Scorpion would continue to be allowed to place their magistrates in the city and help maintain the peace. Secrets of the Unicorn, p. 70 Hantei Naseru After Toturi Tsudao proclamated herself as Empress Toturi II with capital in Kyuden Seppun, the rest of the heirs planned to declare their own claim upon the throne, but in different cities. Hantei Naseru elected Ryoko Owari as his headquarters, and many clans had begun relocating their most skilled and influential courtiers and ambassadors to the city. Clan Letter to the Crab #16 (Imperial Herald v2 #1) Besieged by Kaneka In 1160, in the month of the Dragon, Akodo Kaneka attacked Toturi Naseru's power base in Ryoko Owari Toshi, in the Siege of Ryoko Owari. Rulebook Story (Winds of Change), by Rich Wulf Four Winds, p. 55 Patience (Dark Allies flavor) Stained Paw Plot In 1160 during the days before Naseru took his throne the Stained Paw shamans prepared a terrible curse. They fashioned a satchel of plagued skulls that would be hurled into the Bay of Drowned Honor. The skulls would spread sickness and disease throughout Ryoko Owari, leaving the city empty of life. The Tattered Ear Tribe discovered the Stained Paw ritual and their warriors attacked the saboteurs, fouling the plot. The Last Rememberer, Part Two, by Rich Wulf Scorpion Regain Control In 1166 the Scorpion managed to negotiate the return of control from the Unicorn, part as a result of the War of the Rich Frog, and the rest due to remain secret the existence of the Khan's lover. The War of the Rich Frog, Epilogue The Scorpion were unsurprised to discover the Unicorn had little luck reducing the crime in the city. Bayushi Tsimaru was appointed as new governor News of Rokugan (Imperial Herald v2#18) aided by Shosuro Maru. Blood Hunt (Region 2 - San Francisco, CA, USA) As a renewal of the Dragon-Scorpion Alliance the three Dragon monk Orders dispatched a large contingent of their monks to reconsecrate the city's temples in the name of the Scorpion. Report of Miya Shoin to the Righteous Emperor, Toturi III (Imperial Herald v2 #16) Peasant Uprising In 1168 an uncontrolled riot at Ryoko Owari Seminars Fictions 3, by the Legend of the Five Rings Story Team larger than any in history wracked the City of Lies. Only the students at the Dojo of Bitter Lies saved the city from destruction. Bayushi Shaiga (Rise of the Shogun flavor) Later it was found that Kokujin, the Prophet of the Dark Lotus, had been spread the revolution ideas on the villagers. The City of Lies was nearly put to the torch by the crazed minions of Kokujin, who fanned the flames of discontent to a fever pitch and unleashed his pawns upon the samurai of Rokugan. The Anvil's Legacy: Hammer & Anvil 2 and A Hero's Tale: Hammer & Anvil 3, by Shawn Carman Destroyer War In 1172 the Leatherworker's Quarter burned to the ground. The fire was began by the Scorpion, to destroy a threat to the Empire without any doubt. Beneath the City, Part 2, by Brian Yoon Despite of it the city was quarantined and lost to the plague. Rulebook Story (The Plague War) The survivors were evacuated when the God Beast of Kali-Ma approached the city. Wrath of the God-Beast, Part 1, by Shawn Carman The beast was killed, but an incursion by a group of demon spawn created by the god-beast, ran rampant through the nearly deserted streets. The city would need more than six months to recover. Scenes from the Empire 11, by Shawn Carman & Nancy Sauer Notable Locations Quarters * Fisherman Quarter ** The North Rim ** The Crab Caves ** The Loops * Leatherworker Quarter ** Dragon's Shadow ** The Festering Pit ** The Little Shadowlands * Merchants' Quarter ** Two Gates *** Moment's Edge Bridge ** The Wharves ** Downhill ** Fields of Gold * Temple Quarter ** Daikoku's Shadow ** The Small Holies * Licensed Quarter / Teardrop Island ** The Island Dock ** Swords Polished ** The Island Garden ** House of Foreign Stories ** House of Plum Blossom ** House of the Morning Star ** House of the Red Lotus * Noble Quarter ** The Old Section ** The New Section Other Locations * Akodo Estates * Bay of Drowned Honor * Ryoko Owari Prison * The Great Lunar Cave * Towers of the Eyes Dojo Situated within the heart of Ryoko Owari sat the Scorpion courtier school, the Dojo of Lies, Way of Samurai, p. 63 and it was the original place of the Dojo of Bitter Lies, which eventually moved to the Fortress of Blackened Sight. Great Clans, p. 221 Known governors * Shosuro Kurodo - 6th Governor * Shosuro Kinsue - 9th Governor * Shosuro Atsusuke - 12th Governor * Shosuro Sokichi - 13th Governor * Shosuro Sanekata - 7th century * Shosuro Akitada (? - 1115) * Shosuro Hyobu (1115 - ?) Acting governor * Shinjo Osema (? - 1160) * Bayushi Tsimaru (1160 - ?) * Shosuro Jiroko (c. 1170 - 1200) * Shosuro Takumi (1200 - Present) External Links * Ryoko Owari (Hidden Emperor 2) * The City of Lies (Rise of the Shogun) Category:Unicorn Clan Holdings Category:Articles with Pictures *